It was also at this time, that Charley developed his own distinctive minimalist style, which he called ‘minimal realism’. The feature of this ‘minimal realism’ was the capturing of (only) the essence of a subject, without all the detail. Charley’s most quotable line is probably that he was not concerned with counting feathers, but of counting only the wings, alluding to the minimalist nature of his designs. Charley forsook detail and realism, choosing instead a geometric and uncluttered simplicity in his art. Charley’s work is flat and hard edged, with simple geometric lines. The draftsman’s tools of straight edge, compass, French curve and protractor were his instruments of creation.

First, I had the students paint their large 12 x 18 paper with tints and shades of blue tempera paint and let dry.

Students then started working on their geometric shaped fish. They could use any shape. They just needed a few small details.

Next, students started to add plant life that would be found in a fish habitat.

We added sea weed, lily pads, driftwood,

and various plants that live under the water.

After they added plant life, we discussed how Charley Harper would add geometric lines to represent basic patterns in the objects, such as our fish. Sharpies worked great for the lines.

We then matted the projects on construction paper for displaying in the hallways.

Painted Paper Art

I have been teaching elementary art for 20 years in Ohio. I love my job and watching my 750 students enjoy the process of creating. I love incorporating children's literature with art lessons, and anything to do with fun, colorful art. I am a mom to two lovable kids. I love to see fun projects and mix it up to create a new project. If you do post about a project please reference back to my blog. It is great getting comments and feedback to pass along to my students. Thanks for checking it out!
Enjoy, Laura